Sympathy for the Devil
by labellily
Summary: [Inu/SM] To put it simply, Usagi dies and Lucifer offers her a chance for revenge. But then Lucifer makes a "mistake" and Usagi finds herself in a whole new world of trouble (quite literally, folks).
1. Lesson One: Change and Mental Health

Sympathy For the Devil  
  
Chapter One  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
There was absolutely no sunlight in the room at all. The girl liked it that way. She lived comfortably alone-well, that wasn't completely true. She lived with her soon-to-be-fiancé as well. The girl was only eighteen, and still considered living in a house separate from her parents "living by herself". She was a fairly successful girl, for all that she was a teenager. She was, surprisingly, a genius, which was a fact that startled many of her friends. The girl had created several new computers (much smaller than the older models) and even a new theory, having to do with time travel and travel through space. The girl amazed most people, and for other reasons than her genius.  
  
The girl was a princess right out of a fairy tale. Not that she was a literal princess (although she was, but that was not a widely known fact). She was simply many people's idea of what a princess should look like. Her body was tiny, but still well curved. Her face was very mature, and her smile was something that inspired weak knees and sometimes the most popular songs. Her eyes were an endless sea of blue, glimmering in the lighting. Silky blonde hair cascaded down from two buns in a style of pigtails which were now very popular, much to her amusement. She was well spoken, made intelligent conversation, had perfect manners, and was perhaps the nicest genius with a sense of humor.  
  
Unfortunately for this woman destined for stardom, her life was about to take an unexpected turn for the, well, unexpected.  
  
"Usagi," Mamoru mumbled sleepily beside her.  
  
"What?" she whispered, not moving. The darkness pressed in around them, keeping their hangovers from becoming worse.  
  
His hand reached across her and grabbed up her cell phone. Usagi sighed softly and leaned back into her cool pillows. Cell phones would be the death of her, she thought, still mostly asleep. Mamoru answered her phone with a polite hello, and then gave it to her. It was her boss, he mouthed.  
  
Another sigh escaped her, and she took the phone from him delicately. "Hai?" she asked hoarsely.  
  
"Sounds like you need some water," her boss, Seta Gamaru, said humorously. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"  
  
Usagi touched her forehead tenderly, where a headache was beginning to come on. "Actually, you did. It's New Year's Day, Gamaru-san. Isn't this a little ridiculous?"  
  
His throaty laugh sounded in her ear. "You've been drinking, then. You and Mamoru-san by yourselves, then? Or was it a party? If it was a party, who was there?"  
  
She repressed another sigh. Her boss was obsessively in demand for every detail about everything she did. He seemed to think that she would go and do something stupid. She was a genius, Usagi thought with a grin. "Stupid" wasn't in her vocabulary unless it was being used on someone else.  
  
"It was a party. I had over a bunch of my friends. Minako Anio, Ami Mizuno, Rei Hino, Makoto Kino, Haruka Ten'ou, Michiru Kaioh, Hotaru Tomoe, Setsuna Meioh, Seiya Kou, Yaten Kou, and Taiki Kou. And my cousin, Chibiusa Tsukino. Oh yes, and my brother, Shingo Tsukino. And Motoki and Unazaki (sp? This is his sister, Lizzy) Seimatari*, and Naru and Umino Takakun. I think that's all. Mamo-chan, is that all?"  
  
Mamoru made a strange noise as he was jerked back awake, and then grinned sheepishly. "Hai, I think that's all. Yeah, that was all. Except for that Rita woman- Motoki's girlfriend."  
  
"You hear that, Gamaru-san?" Usagi questioned, wanting very much to go back to sleep.  
  
"Hai, I heard. Jesus, Usagi. A supermodel, a cancer-curing doctor, a pop star, a famous chef, a Formula One racer, a composer, a designer, a hugely famous pop group, and your family. That was one classy party, wasn't it?" he asked, already knowing the answer.  
  
Usagi laughed lightly. "It was absolutely not a classy party. We had pizza, drank, and played a few games."  
  
"Russian Roulette?"  
  
"Except that instead of committing suicide, we had to drink a shot. Whoever passed out first lost."  
  
Seta laughed. "That's great Usagi. And now that you're more awake, I need you to come down to the office and look over this business agreement. It only needs your signature."  
  
"Can't you forge it or something?" Usagi pleaded. The last thing she wanted was to get out of bed!  
  
He laughed. "No can do, koneko-chan. Just come on down and I'll give you Monday off."  
  
"I have Monday off already."  
  
"Ja, Usagi-chan! I'll see you in a few minutes!"  
  
Usagi gazed at the cell phone in deep depression, sighed again, and then swung her long legs out of the bed. Mamoru made a soft sound of appreciation, and she laughed. Mamoru had this very odd infatuation with her legs, as short as they were. It was one of the things that made her laugh these days.  
  
Ignoring his protests, Usagi stood and strode over to the shower. She cleaned herself quickly, wasting no time on letting the water wash away whatever lingering negative emotions were left on her from the rude awakening. Toweling herself dry, she dressed herself in very short shorts and a red spaghetti strap. Slipping her feet into her beige flip-flops, she tied her hair up into her customary hairstyle and ran out the door.  
  
She always loved going outside, because there were all sorts of interesting people in her apartment building. Directly across the hall from her was a man who was convinced that he could plant geraniums in the hallway. He was out there every morning, gardening the non-existent flowers. Despite his mental state, he was a very nice man and had given Usagi some very good advice regarding her sanity. Every piece of advice, however, was related to his garden. Usagi had on many occasions spent several hours puzzling through his advice and then hitting upon a very profound truth of life. She had convinced herself that she was going to write a book on philosophy, containing his advice and the meanings she had derived from it.  
  
Further on down the hall was a woman who reminded her a lot of Makoto. Her name was Sheila, and had moved from Montana, America a while back. Sheila was a runaway, and had made it very well in Japan, where it was not unusual for a teenager to live alone. Usagi herself was much of an example, although she was older than Sheila by two years.  
  
Usagi continued past these homes with a hello to the invisible-garden-man and a wave and a hallo to Sheila. Jogging lightly down the long stairs she crossed the main hall to the door and out into the sunlight. Her headache instantly turned ten times worse, and she groaned softly. What had happened to her pledge of drinking absolutely no alcohol? It was undoubtedly Minako's fault, somehow.  
  
She turned to walk across the street and the sunlight suddenly lanced across her vision, making her head scream in agony. There was a loud honk, and a shriek from the other side of the street. Usagi threw herself blindly in the direction the scream had come from, and felt the air press against her legs where something passed above her. Then there was the crunch of metal colliding with something, and the sickening sound of glass shattering.  
  
The sunlight was suddenly gone from her eyes, and she looked over, her heart beating wildly in her chest. A truck was nearly wrapped around a pole- she assumed it was the same truck that had almost run her over. A large crowd was gathering around the truck, tittering excitedly and whispering amongst themselves.  
  
Usagi knew without question that the driver had been drunk. There was a sickening blotch of puke-green and brown hovering over her view of the truck. It was a shame really, that people got into cars and tried to drive while drunk. He could have killed someone!  
  
"And almost did," someone said softly in her ear, but when she spun around, no one was there.  
  
A heavy sense of foreboding grew in her chest like a piano sitting on a safety pin that was near the breaking point. A shudder went through her body, and she forced herself to continue on her way towards her company's building. She repressed another shudder, and pulled her headphones out of her pocket. They were the small type which fit into her ears. The headphones were connected to another one of her inventions, which was a mini-CD player, made to play ANOTHER one of her inventions, which was a mini-CD. A mini-CD was about the size of a quarter, and just about as strong, too. The CDs are made of a special substance, which Usagi invented and called Tsukiga. The CD that was in at the moment was The Rolling Stones, and "She's A Rainbow" was playing.  
  
As soon as this thought crossed her mind, she was walking in the doors to the building. The receptionist smiled happily when she saw her, and laid her papers down on the huge desk.  
  
"Konichiwa, Tsukino-san! How are you today?"  
  
Usagi pulled her headphones out of her ears and stuffed them back in her pocket. Greeting the receptionist was one of her most favorite parts of the day. The woman (what was her name? Oh yeah, it was Shikujo Hida, she reminded herself).  
  
"Ohayo Shikujo-chan! I'm doing alright for almost being hit by a car and having a massive headache, I suppose," Usagi said with a grin.  
  
Shikujo's face became the picture of astonished horror. "You almost got hit by a car?"  
  
Usagi nodded, loving her reaction. She was alive, wasn't she? Usagi never understood why people got so upset upon hearing news like that-she was alive and well, so what was the big deal? She guessed that it had something to do with people being very relieved at the near victim being alive. The reaction was almost as irritating as funerals. Why did everyone get so upset at someone passing on to a better place than Earth? Did they want it to go badly for the soul? Usagi wasn't sure how her idea would be accepted, but she was determined to either be cremated to "Light My Fire" by the Doors or to have a party, as opposed to a funeral. She wanted her death to be celebrated, not mourned.  
  
Apparently Shikujo was imagining the opposite of Usagi's desired funeral, because her face had gone utterly white. "Oooohhhh," she moaned. "Usagi, don't scare me like that ever again! I nearly had a heart attack!"  
  
The blonde shrugged and began the walk to Gamaru's office. Deciding suddenly that it would be fun to run in the halls, she sprinted down the halls, up the stairs (she violently refused to take the elevator), and burst into Gamaru's office with a bang. The man looked up in surprise at Usagi's sudden appearance, and then smiled.  
  
"Usagi! How lovely to see you! I honestly didn't expect you to show!"  
  
"You, kind sir, are a very lucky man," she announced, sitting down in her favorite chair. She crossed her arms and looked at him levelly. He blinked.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"I almost died today," she explained.  
  
"Well, you're alright, I see. That's good. Now why don't you sign this paper?" he said, pushing a pen and paper towards her.  
  
Disappointed at Seta's apparent lack of reaction, she bent her head to sign the paper. When he was sure she wasn't looking, Seta had a complete (and silent) fit. His face went red, his mouth formed unsaid expletives, and his arms worked furiously. Usagi's head began to raise, and Seta brought himself abruptly under control. He smiled charmingly at her.  
  
Usagi raised an eyebrow. "I'm engaged, you know," she commented.  
  
Seta changed his smile into a "well done" smile. "I know. Forgive me Usagi dear, it's become somewhat of a habit."  
  
"Right. Ja, Gamaru-san! I hope you have a better day than I have!!!"  
  
The second she closed the door behind her, she heard a vase shatter against the wall. "SHE ALMOST GOT KILLED!" he bellowed from inside the room.  
  
"What a weird guy," she commented to an employee, pleased with her success.  
  
Exiting the building the back way (so that she didn't have to talk to anyone else), she quick-stepped it down the fire escape and down into the alley. Smiling to herself at her cleverness at avoiding human interaction, she exited the alley and began the long walk back to her apartment building. She paused at the alley's opening, and then waited for a break in the stream of people. Usagi found it, and then thrust herself into the traffic. She was instantly swept up in the herd and let herself be carried along for a while.  
  
That was when she saw the fortune teller. The old hag raised her head and made direct eye contact with Usagi, who felt like she had been surrounded by either a very large beacon or a sign saying "Fortune teller needs YOU". Deciding upon a whim to go over and have her fortune read, she wormed her way through the crowd and popped out in front of the hag.  
  
"I'd like my fortune read, onegai," she said politely.  
  
The old woman didn't break eye contact, and merely smiled. "Usagi Tsukino, eh? The supposedly content princess of this fairy tale, and the unknown savior of this dimension. My condolences to you, hime-sama. My services are usually 310 yen. For you I'll make an exception. Give me your hand."  
  
Uneasy now, Usagi held out her hand. The palmist took it and brushed her dry, soft fingers across the surface. A jolt of something ran through Usagi's hand and into her arm, tickling her to the point of open laughter. Usagi beat a giggle back down her throat and tried not to fidget while the woman read her fortune. The woman sucked her teeth, let out a soft "aaahhhh...", and released Usagi's hand.  
  
"Well?" Usagi asked anxiously. Most palmists gave people news just right off the bat, which meant that something weird had happened. Again. Maybe it was some kind of curse associated with being a reincarnated princess slash superhero, but something strange always happened to her under the most normal circumstances imaginable. It was highly irritating, and Usagi realized with a sinking feeling that she was going to be receiving some bad news.  
  
The palmist regarded her solemnly. "Your past has been haunted by false promises, lies, betrayal, and many, many deaths. Your present is plagued by doubt, dissatisfaction, and a forced personality. Your future, however....." The woman trailed off, and then narrowed her eyes.  
  
"I suggest that you trust no one- absolutely no one, unless it feels right in your heart- and change your name. Surround yourself with allies, and smile while you can. Your future path is a hard one, hime-sama. Best of luck to you."  
  
"Hey now," Usagi began, but then realized that no one was there.  
  
"Nani?" she exploded. This was impossible! First a fortune teller that knew she was a princess AND Sailor Moon, and then a booth that disappears, along with that woman! This was NOT happening to her!  
  
"Roses!" someone called from the other side of the street. "Roses for sale!"  
  
Usagi looked over instinctively and met eyes with a child no older than Chibiusa, who was about twelve. The child, who had disturbingly pink cheeks and a shock of red hair, tugged on her white tank top, and then, strangely enough, patted her shiny black shorts. The girl brought out a box, and then cranked a bar on the side of the box. Nothing happened for a second, and then Usagi watched from across the street as the box opened, revealing a rippling blackish purple aura of power.  
  
Music reached her ears, and Usagi realized with a jolt what was going on. The music wormed inside her chest like a thick, squirming snake and struck at her heart. Her eyes went completely blank, and she was dimly aware of her feet beginning to move. Rage's hammer beat against the music's cage, but to no avail. Usagi stepped out into the street and walked dauntlessly (or so it seemed) in front of the path of traffic. Then suddenly the music stopped and the life came back to Usagi's eyes. She spun around to see the girl smiling hugely at her and waving.  
  
In a terrible replay of the morning's events, she heard the horn, the scream, and then felt the iron grill slamming into her body. She lay there on the street, blood pouring out onto the concrete around her. For one terrible moment, reality sparkled like cold crystal around her. She looked into the people's faces and knew them and their hearts. She saw them and knew that they were not sad about her-they just wanted some action; something to gossip about. She managed to turn her head to the side and look over at the girl, who was smiling and waving. She reopened the music box, and Usagi squeezed her eyes shut as the piano part from "She's A Rainbow" danced through her head. Rage and hate towards the girl that killed her bubbled up inside her. She tried to sit up so she could maybe kill the girl with one look, failed, and then died.  
  
  
  
  
  
*  
  
*  
  
  
  
  
  
Her eyes snapped open, and she jumped up. "Where is she?" she hissed, and then froze.  
  
She was in an office. Usagi blinked once to make sure she wasn't hallucinating, but the office remained. It was very richly furnished, and had the air of casual professionalism. The dark paneled walls were decorated with paintings of landscapes that she had never seen in her life, and then suspected there was a reason. In one of the pictures there was a woman standing above a lake, holding a sword and looking passively down on something. It struck Usagi that the woman looked vaguely familiar, except for the fact that she never knew anyone with long, velvet rabbit ears. For that matter, she didn't know anyone with that look of passiveness self- assurance. Then something caught her eye. Was she just hallucinating, or was there a smear of gold on the woman's forehead? In the shape of a crescent? But that would mean-  
  
"I see you like my painting," someone said quietly, interrupting her astonishment.  
  
"Who is- who are you? Where am I?" she demanded before she was able to get a grip on her mouth.  
  
Then she stopped and took in the man before her. He was very tall and well muscled. Not skinny, but not overly buff either. He had shaggy black hair and twinkling black eyes that peered out at her from beneath beautifully dusky eyelashes that should have belonged to a girl. His face was fine boned, and he carried an air of superiority and some malice that made Usagi shrink back.  
  
"Full of questions, aren't we, hime-sama? Or is it Usagi Tsukino, now?" He snapped, and a folder (very thick, she noted) appeared in his hand. He riffled through it, the same look of disinterest she had observed on other higher ranking deities. "Yes. You are Usagi Tsukino. Now why couldn't you answer me in the first place? Astonishment, of course. Humans are so immature," he said archly, and then peered down at her to observe her reaction.  
  
Usagi scowled at him. "I'm not immature! I'm reacting as well as I can to this situation! As far as I know, I just almost got hit by another car! What's going on? Is this some kind of hospital?"  
  
He frowned at her and replaced the file wherever it came from- and then it occurred to her. No hospital in Tokyo could do that file trick. Fear and misery began to grow inside of her. His frown worsened.  
  
"Pathetic," he commented. "I expected more out of you. To be so afraid of someone: insanity, and utterly degrading. Your first lesson is to never be afraid. If you are afraid, never show it. Be arrogant. You are a youkai, and deserve respect."  
  
"Excuse me?" Usagi finally exploded.  
  
The man arched an eyebrow at her. "Why are you so surprised? You didn't know you were a youkai? I suppose that's possible. However, you must be educated on your situation as quickly as possible. Usagi Tsukino, born on June 30th, 1985. Died January 5, 2003. Tragic, I'm sure. Now Usagi, for the rest of your history. Your father, Kenji Tsukino, is a rather respected youkai. Your mother, Ikuko, is from another, more respected youkai clan. You and your brother Shingo are somewhat remarkable in the fact that you inherited the more powerful wing transformation from your mother, and the famous speed of your father's clan. You also gained one other thing from your father's side. Black velvet rabbit ears. You've got to be careful about those. They fetch a outstanding price on the black market."  
  
"N-nani?" she stammered. Black velvet rabbit ears?  
  
The man breezed right over her barely audible question. "Now, I'm sure you're incredibly put off by being dead. It always comes as such a shock to those who enjoy life much too much. I assure you despite our reputation, for youkai such as yourself, Hell is a very nice place to spend your afterlife."  
  
"Hell?" Usagi gasped. "Why am I in Hell? I didn't do anything!"  
  
He looked at her in irritation. "I know you didn't do anything, and although I'm sure this is rather a classic movie line, it's what you didn't do that brought you here. Yes, you were a senior member of the Department of Supernatural Justice. Yes, you're a pure, innocent princess. Yes, you did everything that everyone ever expected of you and more. That, my dear Hishima, is exactly the problem. You never did a goddamn thing for yourself, and are now suffering the consequences. Also, it's generally a rule that youkai are not allowed into heaven. Their souls generally burn up when they die, or, if they're lucky and have dabbled in some human interaction and are somewhat civilized (meaning we do not allow those youkai that are thoughtless beasts in here), they come to Hell. You, my dear, are one of the lucky ones."  
  
"I want to call my mother! There must be some way out of this! I don't want to be dead!" Usagi shrieked, flinging her disgusting gold harp at the floor. "And furthermore, if I'm in Hell, why am I dressed in this repulsive white robe? And what the deal with the halo and the harp? I demand that I see my mother!"  
  
The man nodded and sat down in his chair behind the big desk. "This is much better, although you still need to get the emotionless bit down. And I'm afraid, Usagi, that you've used up your last reincarnation. You're stuck here."  
  
Usagi stared at him in shock and began to feel that feeling commonly described as "your world falling apart". Just a few hours ago she was a normal eighteen year old genius, living happily in a costly apartment with her loved one! Well, not exactly loved one. Which was another one of her regrets about dying. She never even got to find her one true love, dammit!  
  
A sob rose in her throat, and she sank back down into the chair. "Who are you?" she asked finally.  
  
The man stood and bowed. "Allow me to introduce myself. In the famous words of The Rolling Stones, I'm a man of wealth and taste. Let's say that I was around when Jesus had his moment of doubt and pain. I was also at the palace when that man killed the Tsar and when Anastasia cried out in vain. I was the one who cried "Who shot the Kennedys?", when in fact, it was me." He sighed, and then smiled reminiscently. "The halcyon old days, eh? Hitler was my main man, that crazy sonnova bitch," he said fondly.  
  
"You- you- you're--!" Usagi sputtered, pressing herself into the back of the chair. Why was it always her that ran into the kawaii evil men?  
  
"Lucifer," he said cordially. "the fallen angel. Thief of many man's soul and faith. Oh, and there was one other man that I forgot to mention in my little recitation. Naraku," he said, and then seemed to pause in wait for something.  
  
"Who's Naraku?" she asked listlessly, not really even caring anymore. It always paid to be polite, she reminded herself through the fog of shock.  
  
"The man who sent the youkai that killed you," he said smoothly.  
  
It was like a shock of electricity rammed into Usagi's head, raising her from her stupor. Her shining fingernails sunk into the plush armrests, and she leaned forward, eyes flashing. "What did you just say?" she said, barely containing the rage that howled furiously inside her head.  
  
Lucifer grinned. His bait had been placed and then gobbled with no hesitation at all. Why was he doing this again--? He glanced to the side, and was reminded instantly. His smile became less, and was suddenly very polite.  
  
"Naraku is a incredibly powerful half-youkai residing in an alternate dimension. This is his story thus far. He began as a badly burned thief named Onigumo, who was tended by a powerful priestess named Kikyo. Kikyo was in love with a half-youkai named Inu Yasha, who was initially after the Shikon no Tama, which was a jewel in Kikyo's possession. The Shikon no Tama is the most sought after jewel, because it grants unimaginable power to anyone who can claim it. Well, Onigumo fell in love with Kikyo, and allowed a horde of youkai to consume his body in order to gain Kikyo."  
  
Lucifer laughed suddenly, and leaned over the desk. "And then guess what happened? He became a shapeshifter, and immediately transformed into Inu Yasha, who had made a deal with Kikyo that if she would bring the jewel to him he would become a human. Naraku (as Inu Yasha) attacked Kikyo and stole the jewel, and then through a chain of events that doesn't really matter blah blah blah he somehow lost the jewel, Kikyo killed Inu Yasha for the supposed treachery, and then died. Fun stuff, huh? Well, now it gets interesting. About 500 later, this girl named Kagome Higurashi (or something to that effect, I pay absolutely no attention to last names) falls back 500 years with the Shikon no Tama in her body. To make a very long story short, Inu Yasha is revived, the Shikon no Tama is split into hundreds of pieces, and now Kagome, Inu Yasha, a youkai named Shippo, a priest Miroku, and the exterminator Sango are on a mission to kill Naraku."  
  
He rubbed his forehead, and conjured a glass of water, which he downed in a gulp. "Also trying to kill Naraku is a wolf youkai called Kouga, the miraculously revived priestess Kikyo, and Inu Yasha's full-blooded youkai brother Sesshomaru, who is traveling with the human girl Rin and the creature Jaken."  
  
Usagi frankly didn't see why this was supposed to be effecting her. So bunches of people are going to kill Naraku because of a tragic love story. Hadn't she seen something like this on TV once? Possibly. Well, she was a little mad about losing her revenge, but she wasn't going to let it eat her up. Now, if it had something in it that directly effected her, she was going to blow a cork and have a nervous breakdown.  
  
"I don't see why I should care a bout a measly half-youkai's tragic love affair. So he and a bunch of others are going to kill Naraku. Fabulous. Can we return to the subject of bringing me back to life?" she asked plaintively.  
  
"We are on the requested subject," Lucifer said, and then waited for it to sink in.  
  
Usagi felt like she was swimming through molasses, and crawling slowly upon the island of a revelation. "You mean," she began slowly, "that if I kill Naraku, I'll be brought back to life? Back home? In year 2003? Tokyo? My dimension?"  
  
He nodded. Usagi brought this idea into focus, examined it, nodded faintly at him, and then fainted.  
  
  
  
  
  
*  
  
*  
  
  
  
  
  
"What is it?" someone asked.  
  
"I don't know, but her ears sure are pretty!"  
  
"All black and soft! Think we can cut them off and sell them?"  
  
"I don't see why not? Kya! What's it doing? Karin, it's smiling! Look at those teeth!"  
  
"Get back Yuki, it's moving! It has fangs and claws and is moving, so RUN!"  
  
Usagi opened her eyes to see two strangely dressed kids hightailing it into the forest. Slowly, ever so slowly, her senses returned. Prickly green grass pressed against her bare arms. Sunlight glanced off of the river that she was half submerged in, making her shield her eyes. The metallic taste of some kind of drug was still in her mouth, reminding her bitterly of Lucy, as she had called him a few infuriating times. Then it occurred to her that she could hear things. Lots of things. She could hear the kids' heartbeats. She could hear their feet pounding against the ground. And it was making her mad.  
  
She dragged herself out of the river, using a pole that was handily nearby as a support. Then she took stock of what she knew for sure. According to Lucy, she would be calling herself Hishima Usagi now, and would be required to summon a cat called Akkineko, who was a gift from Prince Diamond, of all people.  
  
Usagi was wearing baggy red pants that actually kind of looked like a skirt sometimes, she thought disappointedly. There was no real shirt on her, but there was a tight binding across her chest that wrapped her breasts, ribcage, waist, and then went down below the waistband of her skirt-pant- thing. It was really a lot like a bathing suit. There were white bandages wrapped around her hands (fingers left free and mobile) and lower arm. The wrapping stopped just short of both elbows. Usagi assumed that the bandages on her hands were protection from the rough staff that was apparently to be used as some kind of fighting tool. Her feet were clad in just a pair of normal beige sandals.  
  
But now it was time for the true test. She reached up and felt at her head. Her hair had been removed from its usual style and was now tied in a thick braid that hung down her back to her knees. Brushing her fingers across her forehead, she could feel the warmth emitted by the golden insignia. With a suddenly dry throat, she reached back and touched her long black rabbit ears that hung down to a little above her shoulders. They were indescribably soft, she decided after a few attempts at appropriate description. They were just... amazing. And she could hear every goddamn thing in the entire freaking world, she thought with irritation.  
  
She didn't feel much more powerful, for all that she was in a stage of semi- transformation. She twirled her staff experimentally, and grinned. It seemed Princess Serenity didn't leave herself as helpless as anyone had originally expected. Apparently Queen Serenity had blocked that bit of her memory, or had just deemed it unimportant, but Serenity had been a master with the staff. She was also a fair hand at sword-play, and had a knack for picking up hand-to-hand combat techniques.  
  
It was really too bad then, she decided, that the old Queen had put some kind of mental block up that prevented Usagi from regaining her past experience. How depressing. It looked like she'd actually have to work to get anything done in the world. But at least she knew how to get to the Shikon shards!  
  
The question was whether she should go after Naraku right off. Usagi quickly came to the conclusion that with her lack of physical strength and what Lucy called "youkai arrogance", she would be pummeled. It would be best if she followed after either Kagome or Kouga's group and practice her staff on the way. Maybe she could even pick a few techniques from them during the impending violence.  
  
Now that she had some semblance of a plan, it was now time to execute it. Cocking her ears, she tuned into the lesser shards. Kouga and Kagome were both further north, so she wouldn't have to decide who to follow until quite a bit later. So. Off she went, she thought with sudden good humor.  
  
  
  
Feeling much cheerier than she had since she died, she struck the ground with her staff once, and then smiled wickedly. So Kouga of the wolves thought he was a hotshot with his two leg-based Shikon shards? Hah! She'd show him, she thought with a grin before she set off at a rocket-speed towards the forest. She could hear a high pitched ringing, and correctly assumed that it was the Shikon no Tama. Hmph, she thought with a smirk and really getting into the whole overconfident deal. So it made people more powerful? Maybe she'd take it off their hands, she thought with a smirk, not noticing the black lines appear at the corners of her eyes.  
  
Usagi hit the cover of the trees and leaped into the branches, leaping to one tree from the other at record breaking speed, intent on her final destination.  
  
  
  
  
  
_______  
  
*I DON'T KNOW ANY OF THEIR LAST NAMES!!!!!!!!  
  
Um. I hope you liked this, although I'm not entirely sure. It was fun writing, and now I have a favor for you all! Will you go and review watergoddess' fics for me, please? She'd really appreciate that.. And so would I! THANKS, YOU GUYS! Have fun reviewing! If you don't know how, all you've gotta do it click on the "Go" button in the bottom corner! FAST, EASY, AND COMPLETELY FREE! IT'S THE DEAL OF A LIFETIME, AND IN RETURN YOU GET ANOTHER CHAPTER! 


	2. Lesson Two: Embrace Change

Sympathy for the Devil  
  
Chapter Two  
It really was a beautiful forest, she reflected, biting into her apple. She chewed thoughtfully, and then made a face. Okay, so maybe it would take a while longer to get used to the new, completely organic, tree-stolen apples. She bit into it again, this time more carefully. Oh, good, she thought with glee. It tasted better the second time! Maybe it was just an acquired taste. Yeah, that had to be it.  
  
Her bare foot snapped on a twig, and she cringed at the sudden assault on the comfortable silence. Ha! As if she had ever thought that she'd think that- ever! Back in Tokyo she had always talked. People had always talked to her. Hell, people talked whether she was listening or not, which was really unfortunate for her.  
  
She paused to adjust her backpack, which she had really come about in odd circumstances. She had been walking peacefully along, ears twitching freely in the slight breeze, when suddenly an arrow went into her shoulder. Now, she preferred to think that she had handled it bravely, but that would be a bald-faced lie. Seeing as how it was her first experience with pain of that magnitude, she had cried like a baby, thoroughly astounding the villagers around her. They had taken her to a healer, who had calmly removed the arrow with a jerk, eliciting another stream of tears from the demon. The villagers had affectionately nicknamed her "Bunny", much to her annoyance and grudging amusement.  
  
Usagi had explained to them what she was trying to do, and was puzzled when they all said that no one had ever heard of a woman named Kikyo, but that the Bone Eater's Well was just through the forest a ways. She had slaved over this mystery, and the only answer that she could come up with was that Lucy had screwed in some major kind of way. What exactly that way was, she didn't know, but she suspected that she had been placed in the wrong time. Whether it was an accident or not was the real question.  
  
Much to her dismay, she found herself not really caring whether it was an intentional error or not. She was feeling increasingly comfortable in a different dimension's past, and was really getting a feel for their history and customs. It really wasn't all that much different from her own feudal era, except that hers never gave mention to any demon.  
  
What little she had learned about demons was that they were generally creatures to stay away from. You always needed to be on guard, except with a choice few. ("Like yourself," someone had joked. They found a plethora of live spiders in their bed that night, and Usagi stayed awake precisely long enough to hear the scream, and then went to sleep satisfied.) Demon or not, they accepted Usagi with open arms.  
  
At first they had begged her for her name, but to this day she refused to tell them. During her time in the village she had learned the power of a name, and made a resolution only to give hers out to a choice few. None of those few had come into her life yet, unfortunately. So, bewildered by this decision, they stuck to calling her Bunny, or Hishi-Ma, which presumably meant "demon in disguise".  
  
She lived there happily for a while, but then one day felt the Shikon no Tama take on an ominous tone. It was foreshadowing events to come. Usagi took this as her sign to move the hell on and throw herself into the fray and most likely to her death. It didn't much matter to her, though. She was already dead, and she couldn't die twice, she thought optimistically.  
  
They had given her a rather nice traveling kimono (AN: looks a lot like Sango's, although in red and dark blue), a backpack, and a wide brimmed straw hat. They had also equipped her with a sharp, efficient dagger and lethal looking hair clips, which she was using right then.  
  
The "Killer Sticks of Death" as she had named them looked like perfectly ordinary, if beautifully carved, sticks that you used to hold buns up. These sticks were different in that they had a bar connecting the two sticks on each side of the bun, and little clawed (very sharp claws, as she accidentally found out) feet at the bottoms so that they would stay in her hair. They had them made for her when she complained of being able to hear quite literally everything that went on in the village. A girl suggested that she rolled her ears up in the form of black and pink spiraled buns on the top of her head. People would just think that it was a fancy cover for her buns. Everyone that didn't know her believed in her apparent humanity, which vastly amused the blonde demon. Her hearing was still unusually acute despite the rolls, but at least she could get some decent sleep.  
  
Her hand went up and touched the sticks unconsciously. It still felt eerily similar to her old hairstyle, which she had forgone for a newer, more workable braid. She had decided to wear the braid only when she was freely in demon form, because a braid with two buns looked very peculiar. So as she walked through the edges of the lightening forest towards the next town, she had her hair tied in two loops under her ear-buns with pony- tails that hung down to her shoulders. She rather liked the feeling of hair swooping across her shoulders.  
  
Something crunched behind her, and her ear twitched on impulse, dislodging her left stick of death. She swore under her breath and hurriedly rolled her black ears back up into the ever fashionable buns. Suddenly a hand was on her shoulder and she was spun around to face the most breathtakingly beautiful man she had ever seen.  
  
"Uh," she said intelligently.  
  
"Well isn't this interesting," he said softly, reaching up to smooth down some errant black rabbit hair.  
  
Usagi gulped and tried to think about what, exactly, she was planning on doing. Since she didn't think she was going to be able to speak politely for some time yet, she gave a delayed yelp and jumped back.  
  
"Who the hell do you think you are?" she demanded, hand gripping her staff tightly.  
  
He laughed good naturedly and sat down calmly on a fallen tree at the side of the road. Still chuckling to himself, he took out a carefully packed lunch and spread it out on his lap. He grinned up at her, silver hair flashing in the sunlight.  
  
"My wife likes to pack a lot for me," he explained. "Please, excuse me for startling you. At first I was surprised to see such a beautiful young woman traveling through this forest alone, but then I saw your ears and knew that you were a youkai, such as myself. And forgive me for touching your ears- black velvet rabbit ears are said to be immeasurably soft, and I couldn't resist. Please, share my lunch with me," he said with a smile, putting a hand beside him.  
  
Usagi looked at him warily and then sat down on the log, keeping at least three feet between them. She wouldn't trust this man as far as you could throw Elios, which was not far at all because his soft, pampered little head would explode immediately from the pressure being put on it. Imagining this scenario, she snickered ungracefully, and then scratched the back of her head when the man looked at her curiously.  
  
"Does something amuse you?"  
  
Usagi laughed feebly. "Actually, it does. See, back in my world there was this jerk named Elios, and I was thinking about throwing him, and his head exploding from he pressure-" She stopped, and then smiled self- consciously. "Eh, you'd have to know him," she said lamely.  
  
The man shrugged. "I know him. I was wondering why you were thinking about throwing him."  
  
Usagi tripped over her mouth. "Uh," she said again.  
  
He suddenly grinned broadly, showing all of his teeth and giving Usagi the impression he was about to go for her neck. "I like you," he announced. "Which, I hear, is vary rare. So, mystery woman, who are you?"  
  
Usagi copied his earlier shrug. "Dunno for sure. Can't use my real name, from what I've heard. What's your name?"  
  
"What do you think your name should be?" he questioned, ignoring her question.  
  
Irritated, Usagi ripped a chunk of grass out of the ground and began crumbing the clump of dirt at the bottom. "I don't know! I want it to be youkai, though. I'm trying really hard to act like a youkai, and so far it's not working very well."  
  
The man patted her on the back, and then pressed somewhere- she couldn't really feel where. "No worries. Let's see. You're very good at hiding your demon side, so let's call you Hishi-Ma, which I think you've been called before by the expression on your face. Means "Hidden Demon" or something to that effect. My given name is Shiro, and it's a pleasure to meet you, my dear Hishi-chan. Now-"  
  
"Isn't Shiro a dog's name?" Usagi interrupted.  
  
Shiro grinned ruefully. "Hai, it is. I'm a demon-dog, you know. You're a demon-rabbit, as ridiculous as that may sound. Oh, now don't be alarmed if you feel dizzy. You're just going to fall unconscious, and help us get a room tonight-"  
  
And that was the last Usagi heard, because she was collapsed on the ground and seeing nothing but black.  
When she woke up, her first thought was that she seemed to be a sleeping traveler. Her second thought was that she felt significantly less dressed than before. Her third thought was that she just might need to kill Shiro. She sat straight up, and looked wildly around.  
  
She seemed to be in a regular room, which was strange. Her clothes were crumpled in a corner of a room alongside another set of clothing. A great sense of looming disaster made itself home in her stomach. It was doubled when she saw the bottles of sake lying discarded on the floor. Almost dreading what she would see, she looked jerkily to the side, and then down.  
  
"Oh no," she moaned, and dropped back down to the sleeping pad.  
  
"Morning sunshine," Shiro said with a grin, opening his eyes. "Great night last night, eh?"  
  
"Aaaaaarrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuuggggghhhhhhhhh," Usagi said passionately.  
  
Shiro yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Well that was terribly intelligent of you. I thought you might like to know that you have the honor of being my third wife, since you don't seem to be able to remember much."  
  
Usagi repeated every foul word she knew, and then continued in a language that she made up on the spot to convey to him exactly what her sentiments were. Shiro grinned up at her from where he lay on his back. The sunlight slanted across his face, highlighting the beautiful silver of his hair. His brown eyes danced with good humor and an emotion she wasn't particularly keen to discover. His wide, confident smile stirred something inside of her, and she had a feeling that she was doomed.  
  
Unknown to her, Shiro was making much the same assessment. He saw how the emotions paraded across her face, and how beautiful she was when she was thinking about something. Hell, she was beautiful when she was snoring, and he had a strong suspicion that she'd be beautiful if she was picking her nose. He saw the decision appear on her face, and went in for the kill. Might as well bring her down into the depths of love with him.  
  
"I think you should know that I love you," he said abruptly.  
  
Usagi sighed, all defenses gunned down. She'd follow him to hell. And what was with that? She had only met him yesterday! For Christ's sake, things like love don't happen in a day and a night! They take time!  
  
"I've always had a knack for rushing into things ahead of time," he murmured, brushing hair away from her face.  
  
"I hate you," she muttered.  
  
"I love you too, honey."  
They resumed their journey after a short breakfast. Usagi was busy trying to get used to the married life, and Shiro was trying to figure out what to say to his other wives, so they walked for a while in complete silence. There was the sound of their feet crunching over dead leaves that had fallen from the autumn trees and the sound of the birds trilling, but besides that there was no sound at all.  
  
At last Usagi decided that the married life would take time getting used to, so she turned to Shiro, who was mentally writing an elaborate speech for his wives.  
  
"So what did you say to the innkeeper?"  
  
Startled, he jerked his head up and around to her. "What? Oh, I told him that you had been raped in the forest, and that I had come upon them and scared them off. He gave me a free room right away," he said, sounding very pleased with himself. He also sounded a bit apprehensive, which puzzled Usagi for a second, until she laughed.  
  
The tension on his face cleared right away. "Hishi-chan, your laugh does wonders for stress. If I could bottle it, I'd make a fortune," he said with a blinding smile.  
  
It was really too bad that she had spent all of her life looking for this guy, she thought to herself. If she had known that she had to die to get to him, she would have done it sooner. Usagi could see the tell-tale signs of a kiss coming over Shiro's face. Was she really that readable? Apparently she was, she decided as he kissed her again.  
  
They walked on in companionable silence for a while, reveling in the other's company. This was the equivalent of a honeymoon, she thought with great satisfaction. Where would Mamoru have taken her, if they had gotten married? He probably would have taken her somewhere splendid, like Paris, or Rome, or Tahiti, or Maui, or Honolulu, or somewhere romantic in Spain. It would have been terribly publicized, and the world would be following every move she made.  
  
She was suddenly very glad to be a dead person misplaced in time.  
  
"What's bothering you?" Shiro asked quietly.  
  
Usagi decided upon a whim that she would tell him. "See, I'm really from another time in another world. I was this super genius and invented a ton of new things. I was also a super hero, but that was pretty much a teenage thing. I was living in a fashionable apartment with my fiancé Mamoru Chiba, and I was kind of happy. Then I got hit by a car, due to a youkai sent to my world by a being called Naraku. I was killed, and then sent to this world to destroy Naraku and regain life. Only thing is that I'm not so sure if I want to come back to life. I mean, Lucy said that I'd be alive in my own world, my own time, and my own body- just like nothing had happened. I'm not sure I want that anymore."  
  
Shiro absorbed this silently, and then nodded. "So who's this Lucy woman?"  
  
Usagi laughed. "Lucy's his nickname. His real name is Lucifer, and he's quite literally the Devil. He's a great guy if you ignore all of the terrible things he's done, which really makes me wonder why he wants Naraku dead. If Naraku's such an evil guy, why would Lucy want him out of the way?"  
  
"I assume that it's because this Lucifer fellow owes a good person something. Or maybe he's trying to impress someone," he suggested.  
  
Usagi considered. "I suppose that would make sense. Oi! What's that up there?" she gasped as they reached the top of the rather mountain-like hill.  
  
A massive fortress loomed before them, drenched artfully in mist and barricaded by a craggy line of mountains. The sun pierced the mist becomingly, and greenery left large smudges on the scenery, making the castle look like a hidden Eden.  
  
"That," Shiro said with great satisfaction, "is my home."  
  
He began to walk again, and it took her quite some time to gather her wits and jog after him. Shiro seemed unconcerned with the huge mountain range in their path, and simply strode along with his usual confidence. She studied him from behind, and liked what she saw. His facial features were delicate, but not feminine exactly. His narrowed brown eyes had tiny gold streaks beside them, and there was a rather large black crescent moon sitting perched on his forehead. He was dressed richly, but not ridiculously so. He looked like he was a traveling man with a purpose in mind. Usagi wasn't entirely sure what she looked like, but she was fairly certain she wasn't nearly as impressive as Shiro.  
  
In fact, Usagi was being hard on herself. While she was still fumbling around with her staff, she had developed a peculiar way of gripping it that made others think that she knew how to use it. She could also swing it into position with relative ease, and she carried it like it was an extension of her arm. These were all marks of a good staff wielder, which was too bad since she couldn't figure out how the hell to fight with it.  
  
She had also gained a way of walking that she had picked up from Shiro. The style was modified of course, and so Usagi managed to walk like she knew where she was going. Considering her stature and gender, most people found her pretty intimidating also. It wasn't that she was particularly forceful or anything. It was just that whenever she went anywhere she always kept her voice even and measured, and her eyes half lidded. It gave the impression that she didn't rive a rat's ass about any of them and that impression carried rather well.  
  
Usagi was also becoming somewhat less of a klutz. Mountain climbing did that to you, and so did rebounding off of trees to get where you want to go quickly. If she was always falling she would probably manage to get herself killed, which would be impossible and most likely terribly inconvenient.  
  
She stopped her train of thought, and then pursued another. What would happen if she did die? Say someone blew a hole through her chest. What the hell was she supposed to do then, eh? Cover it up? Die? She suddenly found herself thinking that it would be good for Lucifer to come and answer some of her questions.  
  
He wouldn't though, she thought with a silent sigh. He'd laugh at her and explain at length how the challenge of risking your life was part of the whole experience for her. She would then demand to know why she couldn't use the near death traumas she had when she was Sailor Moon, and he'd give her a martini and get her blissfully drunk.  
  
Lucifer was a highly effective Devil.  
  
"You're thinking again."  
  
Usagi flinched, and then laughed. "I stand accused. So how do you think your wives are going to accept me?"  
  
Shiro grimaced. "I'm really not all that sure, to tell you the truth Hishi- koi. The two get along very well. The tall one with the red hair is Suzuku, and the other is named Hina. Hina is a very nice woman, and she's pregnant with my second son, who's is due to be born sometime soon. Suzuku on the other hand just gave birth to a boy, who she named Sesshomaru. Beautiful boy," he said with a grin.  
  
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, she smiled nervously and looked up at the approaching castle. Could she measure up to the two other women- one of which was a mother of Shiro's child? Probably not. But she could try. Suddenly Shiro leaned close to her and slipped an arm around her slim waist.  
  
"You need to work on your poker face. I can read every thought that crosses through your mind. I also thought you should know that you're pregnant," he said with a soft smile.  
  
Usagi's heart fell headlong into her stomach, and then snapped back up into its rightful place, where it ran wildly around in circles. "A-are you sure? I'm p-pregnant?"  
  
He nodded and took her hand. "I hope you're not upset. I thought you would be happy," he explained worriedly.  
  
Usagi nodded faintly. "I'll be ecstatic once I get over the shock. Hold on, my heart is still trying to dive bomb my stomach-"  
  
"Shiro. How pleasant of you to finally return," murmured a voice.  
  
"And with another wife in tow, yes?"  
  
Shiro and Usagi stopped in their tracks, and Usagi's heart passed out. Before them were the two most beautiful women she had ever seen in her life. One had lustrous black hair and the fine features of an educated lady. The other was fiercely beautiful, like a burning bush of rubies. They were reclining on a misty white cloud, and their eyes were solely on Usagi's new husband. Shiro quailed.  
  
"Hello beautiful ladies," he began.  
  
"Oh quiet, you!" Suzuku suddenly snapped. "You can climb into the castle for all I care! You there- what's your name?"  
  
Usagi's mind wheeled for a moment, and then she got a grip on herself. "Um, my name's Hishi-Ma. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Lady Suzuku and Lady Hina. Shiro has been toting your praises since we met."  
  
Hina laughed lightly and held a hand out to Usagi. "You're not the usual type he'd pick for a wife. Please, come with us and we'll show you your rooms and get you settled in. One must always be ready for everything. Isn't that true, Shiro-koi?"  
  
Shiro frowned. "Come on, girls! I wasn't gone for that long!"  
  
Suzuku pulled the unresisting Usagi onto the cloud with them and instantly rose into the air. "We got married again during your absence, love. We gave them rooms inside the castle, and there's one that would like to meet Hishi-san here very much."  
  
Shiro growled something out, but the three women were already zooming through the air. Usagi was sure they made a very impressive sight, if one was ultimately concerned with that, which she wasn't.  
  
"Did you really get married to someone else?" she shouted over the wind.  
  
Hina laughed again. "Do you think we could? The two of us love that fool too much to ever marry anyone else. Usagi, since you're the third and since he's entrusted you with his arrow, we're going to need to perform a ceremony on you."  
  
Usagi gurgled intelligently. Why did things like to happen to her? Was she a "weird incident" magnet? What was wrong with her? And to top it all off, she seemed to go into these things willingly! There had to be some crime associated with that! This time it was Suzuku who laughed.  
  
"Your face is ridiculously easy to read! Look, here we are! The layer of the fearsome demon dog and his three formidable wives," she said with a prideful grin as they landed on a smooth landing spot.  
  
Usagi was still having coping difficulties. Everything had changed so quickly! It had been what, July when she died? And then she was suddenly shown that she was a demon, and then she was thrust into a world where she suddenly found herself pregnant and expecting! Jesus, she was only eighteen! Still a kid! Only just able to vote!  
  
Suzuku was saying something to her, Usagi belatedly realized. "Oh, sorry! I wasn't paying attention," Usagi said sheepishly.  
  
The red haired demon opened her mouth to snap at her, but Hina beat her to words. "That's alright Hishi-chan. I understand that everything must be very hard for you to accept. It all must be such a shock. Now, let me explain about this ceremony. Remember the arrow that Shiro gave you?"  
  
Usagi nodded slowly, not seeing where this was all leading.  
  
Hina smiled consolingly and led Usagi into the castle. The inside was actually pretty nice, considering its location. There were large skylights blasted into the ceiling, walled off my gauzy barriers of magic. Tapestries hung from the walls, and there was a large glowing ball of light suspended from the ceiling by a silver chain.  
  
Suzuku and Hina completely ignored the splendor and led her further into their home. They walked briskly towards a tapestry, lifted it, and walked though the yawning hole in front of them. Usagi felt a tingle race over her skin as she passed through the entrance, and realized that she had just passed through another barrier.  
  
They exited the long, dark hallway and entered a large, well light room. There was a stone altar in the center, and Usagi got the uncomfortable feeling that she was going to be spending a lot of time there. Suzuku and Hina each slipped strange necklaces on over their heads and turned towards the increasingly nervous young demon.  
  
"That arrow is something very special. He entrusts it to only the one he thinks can take care of it. That arrow binds a person to his soul. If he lives, you live. If he dies, you will be sent into a deep, deep sleep, only to be awakened by true loves' kiss, which is highly unlikely," Hina said regretfully.  
  
"The other way," Suzuku continued after giving Hina a glare, "is that some powerful artifact must wake you from your sleep. We all know you're in the wrong time, Hishi-Ma Usagi," she said softly.  
  
"And we know that you're here for vengeance. So when your time for revenge comes, you will be woken up. This is also very improbable, because revenge has a peculiar way of slipping by your guard," Hina said with a bitter smile.  
  
"Is there a plus side?" Usagi asked weakly.  
  
Suzuku nodded, now seeming very businesslike. "Of course there is. You will be very, very close to him. You will most likely be able to read his thoughts, and will have a direct tie with this castle and his bones, wherever they will lay. You will also be highly respected as the other fourth of his soul; and even more as the dominant quarter."  
  
Usagi frowned. "But what about you two? Where will this leave you? Why haven't you done this ceremony on yourselves? Why me?"  
  
Hina took Usagi's hand and squeezed it. "Shiro is a strange man in the fact that he makes room in his heart for as many people want in. There will always be a place for us. As to why we haven't done this on ourselves, it's because we don't have the room in our souls to fit the spell into. You have an unusually enormous heart and soul, and that makes you a perfect candidate. Do you understand?"  
  
Usagi nodded, beginning to see the pattern Lucifer had laid out for her. Every day during her quest for Naraku would be a trial. A test of spirit. A measuring of faith. He was setting obstacles in her path and forcing her to learn things that she never would have in the other world. She knew the tests hadn't even begun yet- hell, Kikyo hadn't even been born as far as she could tell.  
  
Suzuku and Hina were looking at her expectantly, awaiting her answer. Usagi was surprised that she hadn't given it to them already. Marshalling her courage, she nodded again.  
  
"I'll do it."  
The ceremony itself was remarkably insignificant in the fact that Usagi didn't feel any major difference, except that she felt a different heart beating in her chest. It was really distracting at first, having two heartbeats, but that was nothing compared to the bubbling in her soul she felt constantly. It was the spirit of the mountain castle stirring inside of her, and it was one very creepy feeling.  
  
Usagi wandered aimlessly around the mansion for a few hours, familiarizing herself with the servants and the layout, and getting used to the feeling of being pregnant and having all of the new things that had happened to her in the last few days. A great shout filled the hall, and then the sound of doors slamming.  
  
The blonde peeked over the banister to see Shiro opening and slamming doors wildly. Someone giggled behind her, and Usagi spun to find Hina returning a large painting to its original position. The stately woman crossed over to the banister and looked down on Shiro. She giggled again.  
  
"He's looking for our husbands," Hina whispered with a muffled giggle.  
  
Usagi lifted to the sleeve of her beautiful new kimono to her mouth to hide her wide grin. It was too funny. In his rage, Shiro failed to notice the carpet on the floor and tripped on it. Suzuku materialized and caught him in the nick of time. He recovered from the shock quickly and began to rage at her.  
  
"WHERE ARE THOSE BASTARDS? I'LL RIP THEIR THROATS OUT! I'LL-"  
  
"Love, we were joking. Go to your room and take a cold shower," Suzuku suggested calmly before vanishing.  
  
Shiro stood there frozen in stupefied amazement, and then lashed out at the air. He danced around lividly for quite a while and then slid down the wall to the floor. He shook his head, and chuckled.  
  
"Women," he muttered.  
  
He couldn't for the life of him figure out why several pieces of jewelry suddenly rained down on him from above. 


	3. Lesson Three: Shit Happens and it's Shit...

Sympathy for the Devil

Chapter Three

"Ain't no Sunshine"

"What would you do for love?" Usagi asked softly.

Beside her, Shiro grunted and tightened his grip around her waist.  "Well," he said huskily, "I guess it would depend on the circumstances, I guess.  What about you, hmm?  What do you think you'd do for love?"

Usagi snuggled closer to his warm body.  "Ummm, I don't think I need to think about it, since you're right here," she said finally.

He laughed, and she looked crossly at his heaving chest.  Once she was certain that he had quite finished with the laughter, she ran her hand across his chest and then laid her head down.  His hands found her hair, and she closed her eyes to the soothing sensation of his fingers running through her blonde hair, which had grown much longer in the months that she had been there.

Many things had changed since she had been accidentally dropped into her current world.  She had been a teenage genius with a promising future— but she had not experienced the supreme happiness that accompanied true love.  Since she had become a demon, she had found herself changed into the kind of woman that she had always admired.  Incidentally, she was also the woman that all of her former friends would have hated… and feared.

The life Usagi lived now… it had demands.  It demanded strength from her.  Agility.  Poise.  Grace.  Wits.  Love.  And, sometimes most importantly, a sense of humor.  She found that she rather liked life next to Shiro and her best friends Hina and Suzuku, and… and the life growing inside of her.

As if sensing her thoughts, it kicked out in irritation, making her wince.  Shiro was instantly fully awake and massaging her palm.

"You doing alright?"

And the one downside, she thought darkly.  She was constantly being pampered to the point of suffocation.  Suzuku had confided to her at one point that Shiro had gotten to be so unbearable that she had been forced to retreat to a mountain cave midwife to live out the rest of her pregnancy in peace.  Hina, on the other hand, had no such qualms to being pampered.  In fact, she took full advantage of it, and would have been considerably disappointed at the loss of comfort if she hadn't been lavishing nonstop attention on her new baby boy.  The child was adorable, Usagi had to admit.  The child was also the polar opposite of Suzuku's full demon child.

Inu Yasha (the newborn baby of Hina) was…  Usagi searched in her mind for the right word.  Well, he was like a normal baby.  In the three months that he had been alive, he had aged approximately to the age of three, no doubt because of the atmosphere surrounding the mountain fortress.  He had soft white hair that had a maddening tendency of fluffing out, driving his blonde aunt completely insane.  He was already arrogant and spoiled, thanks to Hina, and had a total aversion to any kind of learning.

In contrast, Sesshomaru was cold and silent.  Eight years to Inu Yasha's three, Sesshomaru was already more learned than Usagi had been in junior high.  His silver hair fell straight as sticks to his chin, and his bangs framed his tiny crescent moon perfectly.  His cold eyes stared silently out from under those bangs, and they already sent shivers down Usagi's spine.  It was like he knew about her.  He knew about what would happen to her.  He knew about the arrow.  He knew about her past.  It felt like he was always watching her.  Everywhere she went, she could feel his eyes on her face.  

That was what it felt like, anyways.  It was unlikely that he was watching her, and it was impossible for him to know about her past— he would have to have spent a great deal of time around Usagi, which he hadn't.  He was already beginning long excursions outward into the world, which filled Usagi with an endless amount of worry.  Neither Shiro nor Suzuku seemed concerned with it however, so Usagi kept her worries to herself.

"Hishi?"

Shiro's voice broke through her thoughts, suddenly reminding her that he had asked her a question quite some time ago.  She rolled over onto her side, facing towards him.

"Just thinking about pregnancy and wondering why the hell you never told me that demons had such a fast pregnancy," she lied.  Well, at least it wasn't quite a lie.  Pregnancy *had* been on her mind; just not *her* pregnancy.

Shiro laughed sheepishly.  "Sorry, love.  I had completely forgotten that you're only a new demon.  You put up such a convincing act that even I forget sometimes.  But…. You're still a terrible liar.  So why don't you tell me what's really on your mind?"

Usagi grimaced.  She had never been able to get a lie past the damn man.  "I was thinking about Inu Yasha and Sesshomaru, and how different they were."

The man next to her coughed, and then smiled.  "What are you thinking of naming yours?"

An embarrassed smile crept onto her face.  "Well I don't really know anything about this place's names, or what names are suitable for a demon… but my favorite names are Felicity and Lana," she said quickly.  Then she closed her eyes, preparing herself for the inevitable onslaught of laughter.

Not to her surprise, the laughter did come.  "Trust you to pick names like that.  Felicity and Lana… oddly enough, I like them.  Do you have any male names of choice?"

Usagi was taken aback— she hadn't even thought about male names.  "W… well to tell you the truth, no one in my family has ever had a girl.  It's kind of a tradition in the royal line…" she muttered, trailing off.

He raised an eyebrow.  "Royal line?"

Usagi's cheeks went bright red.  "Uhhh, nothing.  Never mind.  It doesn't matter," she said, noting Shiro's curious expression with growing dismay.

"No, I think it *does* matter," he said, moving onto his stomach and propping himself up on his elbows.  "Pray tell," he said encouragingly.

"Baby names," Usagi said firmly.  "I like the name Seil for a boy.  Seil or Andrew."

Shiro's eyebrows drew together.  "Shay…el?  What an odd name.  Again, much like you to choose something like that.  Definitely, however, not "Andrew".  It's much to commonplace to ever name one of our children that.  I approve of the names Felicity and Shael.  And Lana."

He groaned and scrubbed at his face.  "I hope you have triplets," he mumbled into his hands.

Usagi went to sleep minutes later with an intense feeling of satisfaction as she replayed his hurt yelp as her palm connected with his cheek.  Triplets my ass, she thought sourly.

There was a soft thud.  Usagi tensed up immediately, senses straining to hear something else.  A weight dropped onto the bed right next to her, and her eyes flew open to find Inu Yasha crouching there.  He watched her with those sharp eyes of his, measuring her every move.  He looked uncertain as to whether he was allowed to be there or not.  Wanting immediately to soothe his fears, she reached out and touched him on the head.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, trying to see better through the all encompassing darkness.

He shifted uncertainly.  "I had a bad dream," he admitted finally.

Hiding a small smile, she drew him into a hug.  "Do you want to talk about it?"

The small boy was silent for a long time, and then he nodded.  "It was really dark," he mumbled into her shirt.  "And you and Mommy and Aunt Suzuku and Daddy and Sesshomaru were all there.  Daddy was yelling something at you, and you looked mad.  Then you started crying.  Then Daddy looked sad, and then he disappeared.  Then you were still there, but you looked see-through.  I think there was a man standing behind you, holding onto your shoulders.  Then Aunt Suzuku left.  Then Sesshomaru wasn't there.  And then Mommy went away.  I was all by myself, and then these two little girls came up to me, but I ran away from them, and—"

He stopped, and dug his fingers into Usagi's skin.  "Promise you won't leave," he pleaded.

Usagi wrapped her arms around him.  "I won't ever leave you.  I love you all too much.  Now let's go to sleep, 'kay?"

Inu Yasha looked much better.  "I'll go back to my room now.  Sesshomaru will yell at me if I'm not there in the morning," he explained as he walked to the door.  Then he paused, looked a bit undecided, and then ran over to her, pecked her on the cheek, and ran out of the room.

Smiling softly to herself, she nestled back down into the large bed.  He was a cute kid, she thought before oblivion claimed her. 

The next morning, Usagi awoke to Shiro's concerned face hovering anxiously above her.  Perplexed, her eyebrows drew together as she frowned at him.  What on earth was he staring at her for?  She reached up and tried furtively to brush his face away.

"Are you alright?" he asked tremblingly.

That was it.  "Oh for the love of God, Shiro!  This pregnancy isn't that difficult!"

He shook his head and took one of her hands nervously.  "It's not the pregnancy, love.  Sometime last night you grew wings, and you began screaming.  You don't remember?"

Surprised, Usagi sat up and reached over her shoulder to finger the coal black feathers sprouting from her shoulder blades.  They were soft too… but, luckily, not as soft as her ears.  With that thought, she reached up to smooth the velvet hair on her ears down.

"That man must have done something to you, then," Shiro said finally, after one long, searching look into her face.

Usagi paused.  "What man?"

Shiro flushed embarrassedly.  "He didn't give us his name.  I wouldn't let him in, so he knocked me out.  You sure you're alright?"

The blonde sat up straighter.  The only man who would give a rat's ass about her and who had the power to knock out Shiro was…

"That son of a bitch," Usagi said quietly.  "Shiro, did he have black hair and eyes?  Did he act like a total asshole?  Did he make any weird comments about the Rolling Stones?"

Shiro, utterly bewildered by this point, nodded.  Usagi exploded off the bed angrily.  Well.  She *would* have exploded off the bed if her belly hadn't been so goddamn swollen.  She more like… pulled her way out of bed by way of Shiro's arm and waddled irately toward the window.

"You know who it was?" Shiro asked curiously.

Usagi, caught up in her ranting, didn't hear him.  Her mind was shaking with trauma.  So Lucifer had known she was here the entire time.  He had deliberately placed her in this time, regardless of the fact that Kikyo and Naraku weren't even born yet!  But why?  What was the use of that?   Why hadn't he just placed her in the right time for her revenge?  Did he want her to learn something?  Why wouldn't he tell her what was going on?

"Hishi?" Shiro asked softly.

Usagi whirled on him.  "Yes I know who it was!  It was Lucifer, that asshole who promised me revenge and then placed me in the wrong time!  I can't believe he did that!  And he won't even contact me about anything!  I don't know why I'm here, I don't know how I'm supposed to get my revenge, and I don't even know what it is that I'm supposed to be doing!"

Shiro looked taken aback, and then angry.  "So you're telling me that you're pissed because he just dropped you here with me?  That you can't believe he's leaving you alone with your husband and child?  You're angry because he's leaving you in peace?  Why can't you just leave be?" he roared furiously, eyes blazing.

Stunned at his outburst, Usagi's initial reaction was to withdraw, but something inside made her rise to the confrontation.  "I AM HERE FOR REVENGE!  I DON'T WANT TO REST IN PEACE!  I WANT TO GET MY REVENGE!" she yelled, tears springing to her eyes.

"And what then, hmm?  You are reborn in your own place and time, with your boyfriend?"

Usagi's eyes dropped to the floor.

There was a long silence from Shiro.  When he spoke, his voice was cold and empty.  "Fine then.  I'm leaving," he said shortly, and vanished.  Usagi's eyes stayed at the place where Shiro's face had been, and then she burst into tears.

She heard the door open, and looked up quickly in hope that it was Shiro.  When she saw Hina, her face crumpled and fresh tears rolled down her face.  Hina made a small noise in her throat and gathered Usagi up in a tender hug.

"Shhhhh," Hina said soothingly.

Usagi's small frame was wracked by another gasping sob.  "Oh god Hina-chan….  That was our first f… f…fight," she said, dissolving into more tears.  "And what makes it even worse," she whispered hollowly, "is that I meant every word.  I want my revenge so badly… but I love Shiro so much…"

Hina's arms around Usagi tightened, and Usagi wept into her embrace with will.

A few miles away from his castle (which had recently been taken over by women—all of whom had been pregnant recently), Shiro kicked a foot at a clod of dirt.  Women.  They were so damn unpredictable.  He had pretty much figured out Suzuku and Hina— Suzuku wanted passion, Hina wanted to be pampered, and Usagi….

He was kidding himself if he thought that he had Usagi down to a science.  He had been pretty confident when they had first wed— what she wanted was unconditional love, a devoted husband, and someone warm to hold.  But then he had gotten to know her, and he belatedly realized that this third wife of his was multi-layered.  She wanted to be pampered, but not smothered.  She was a wonderful, loving wife, but she wanted to kill some man who hadn't even been created yet.  She was fiercely independent... but needed people around her.  She was prone to explosive fits of rage, but hated fighting.  So he couldn't do one thing without---

That was about when the pain split through his head.  He went to his knees clutching his head, gasping for breath.  Red filled his mind, and then the pain pierced him again.  Distant agony shuddered through his bones, leaving him lying on the ground sucking in a hard-won breath.

What the hell was going on?  The wave of pain rolled over him again, and again, and again--  it seemed to go on forever.  Wondering feverishly whether he was going to die here like this— from some kind of mental attack, he spent hours wondering if he would ever see his wives or children again.

Suddenly release from the pain was granted to him.  He staggered unevenly to his feet, and leaned heavily against a tree on the road beside him.  There was a moment of painlessness, and then a foreign hollow feeling swept through him.  Then mind-numbing grief washed through him.

At that time, something occurred to demon.  Usagi.

He burst into the main foyer and looked around wildly.  Seeing no one, he sprinted down to the infirmary.  Sure enough, Suzuku was sitting in front of the door.  From behind the wood he could hear Usagi sobbing.  He skidded to a stop in front of the door.  Suzuku didn't look up.

"Is she in there?" he asked breathlessly.

Suzuku nodded her head mutely, still refusing to meet his eyes.  It was about then that he realized that something was wrong.  He sat back on his heels and took the hands of his first wife.

"Suzu-koi.  What happened?"

She finally raised her head, and he was appalled to see tears dripping slowly down her cheeks.  Her hand was covering her mouth tightly.  She took her hand away, opened her mouth, and then snapped it shut again as a new wave of tears poured from her eyes.  The woman removed her hand and grabbed a fistful of the fabric that made her skirt.

"Miscarriage," she whispered finally.

The work was like a sledgehammer to his head.  Dead.  His baby… was dead.  Shiro felt unfamiliar tears rise inside of him, but he forced them back down.  He had to be strong.

The door opened, and Suzuku climbed to her feet, turning anxiously to greet Hina, who closed the door softly behind her.  The brown-haired woman stood still for a moment, and then turned to face them.  Her eyes were red from crying as well.

"She's cried herself to sleep," she said quietly.

"What happened?" Sesshomaru demanded in chorus with Inu Yasha, appearing in front of his mother.  "What are those?" he inquired of his aunt's tears.

Suzuku tried vainly to push them away.  "They're called tears.  It's called crying.  When people are very sad, this is what happens," she tried to explain.  "It's like sadness boils up inside, and you have to let it out."

He looked critically at her tears.  "So… why are you… crying?" he asked, trying out the new word.

"Well," Suzuku said with great difficulty, "you know how your Aunt Hishima was going to have a baby?"

"Yes…." Sesshomaru and Inu Yasha said together  Sesshomaru eyed his mother warily, unsure of where this was going.  What did Hishima have to do with sadness, and the baby?

"The baby's dead," she whispered, evoking another onslaught of tears.

Sesshomaru fell back to reflect on this, but Inu Yasha wasn't done.  "They were twins, right?  I felt them!  Were they girls or boys?" 

Shiro looked up sharply.  "Twins?" he echoed hoarsely.

Hina dropped her head.  Suzuku looked away.  Shiro felt a new pang of sadness.  Usagi would have gotten to use two of her favorite names.

"Were they boys?" Inu Yasha asked again, not understanding why Shiro had such a reaction to the news that they were twins.

"She had baby girls," Hina said finally.

"Felicity and Lana," Shiro said quietly.  "That's what she wanted to name them."

Silence reigned for a long time.

Usagi did not recover from the loss of her children.  Shiro, unable to break through her shell of grief, left to go destroy a rampaging dragon.  Unable to completely destroy the dragon, he settled by sealing it away in eternal slumber.  Having used all his strength to battle the demon, Shiro died.  Usagi immediately fell into a deep sleep that Suzuku and Hina were unable to rouse her from.  Seeing no other choice, they traveled to Shiro's gravesite and suspended Usagi inside one of his bones.  As a result of Shiro's death, the mountain castle crumbled away, leaving nothing but a pile of rocks.  Hina took Inu Yasha to her human town, where she struggled to raise him on her own.  Suzuku went back to the demon world alone, leaving Sesshomaru to himself.

Inu Yasha and Sesshomaru grew.  Inu Yasha met the woman Kikyo, and the fated events followed, ending in Kikyo's death.  Inu Yasha remained bound to the tree for fifty years, until Kagome Higurashi pulled the arrow from his chest.  The Shikon no Tama shattered, and spread to the ends of earth.  Kagome and Inu Yasha set out on their quest, eventually leading them to the confrontation over the sword in Inu Yasha's father's tomb. 

And then inside Shiro's bones life stirred for the first time in fifty years.

Author's Note:

The dumb in-between chapter!  It's BETWEEN when Usagi is happily married and when Usagi… well, she essentially goes through withdrawl.  She can't handle the knowledge of the deaths of her children, and that grief added to the shock of waking up fifty some years later WITHOUT the love of your entire existence….  Expect to see her acting… oddly.  Searching for… love, I guess.  *shrugs*  Don't blame me.  That's just how it happened.  

NOW FOR THE LONG AWAITED REVIEWER'S THING!!!!!!!

**Kaeoke**: Eh heh… well see I was grounded when I started it… and I dunno.  I've heard that Inutaisho is the title… name… gah!  I'll actually have to _look it up_.  Nooooo! 

**Gackt Camui**:  AAAAAHHHHH!!!  Thanks for your review!!!  Heehee, I'm glad you like Shiro… but then you won't have liked this chapter very much.  I didn't like writing it either.  *pouts*  I liked him too.  AND LUCIFER!  *glomp*  Doncha just wanna… like… let him get you drunk?  

**Sugarhigh maniac**:  Whoa… tone down on the sugar…  *backs away nervously*  

**Kage-Shadow-of-Darkness**:  YAY!!  I threw you for a LOOP!  Heh… I like Shiro tooooo…. But now he's DEAD!  *weeps pathetically*

**Sapphireskies**:  EVERYONE LOVES SHIRO!  NOW I FEEL BAD FOR KILLING HIM!

**Lilacligh**t:  GLAD YOU LIKED IT!  YAY!  Have fun reading my other fabulous story!  *cough*

**Anknee/Kitteen**:  You didn't like Shiro?  That's so sad….  Well, you'll probably like the following chapters.  HE'S NOT IN THEM.  *tries to contain tears*

**Dee-chan**:  *holds Shiro protectively* YOU CAN'T HURT HIM!  Well, no worries.  Usagi gets a lot meaner now.  Sort of.  I dunno.  Just wait and see.  AND I LIKED IT WHEN SHE DIED, TOO!  Not in the morbid sense or anything.  *laughs*  And of COURSE she has a new love interest after Shiro.  She has like… fifteen billion.  Well… not quite.  That's why you need to VOTE!

**Ladylove**: HAHAHAHAHA!  I'LL NEVER TELL!  You'll have to SEE who wakes her up!  *whispers* No true love, sorry.  We've got SHARD action. *end whisper*

**Chide**:  JESUS PETE!  You and Pern should talk, you guys both voted for Usa/Kouga… and those are the only votes so far!!!!!  VOTE, DAMN YOU PEOPLE!!!  

**Celestial DreamBlaze**: I love your reviews!  And yes, I agree!  The baddies are most… tasty.  *grins*  So do I hear a vote for Kouga?  (And of COURSE you love Lucy!  *laughs madly*)

**Oracale**: Okies, the wing transformation is a thing she got from her mother's side.  Wings pop out of her.  She can FLY!  Whee.  She can do that anyways, but it looks cool when she has black wings.  And the black streaks at her eyes… youkai markings.  Thanks for the review! 

Additional thanks tooooo:

**Sailor_Kaio_Cannon, jen, F.A. Star Hawk, Ginzou Tuski, dragon-wing3, Moon-n-Universe-Goddess, amily, Chrys-chan, Shirley, Usa Yui, Sage: the Dark Dryad, Moon Ryoko, celesmoonprincess, Lhia, Ayden, Pern, Luna2, Crystal Raindrop, Invisible Rain, SilverQuick, Angellus Lee, Celtic Guardian Gurl, **and** Zpan Sven!!!! **


	4. Revenge is Mostly Like a Boomerang

Sympathy for the Devil

Chapter Four

"Without a Name"

* * *

The first thing she understood was white.  There was no thought, no sound, and no taste.  Then slowly sense returned to her.  At first all she could hear was this high-pitched ringing that vibrated through her body and mind and seemed to shake her very bones.  Then true sight returned in the form of a sickly dark pink light engulfing her vision.

That was when she realized that she couldn't move.  Panic swept through her body, and then exploded outwards.  Her white prison cracked, and then shattered.  She hung in the air for a moment, and then dropped lightly to the ground.

Her mind gibbered like an idiot as she stood quickly, wishing desperately for someone to hit her upside the head.  There was a shadow of someone in her mind, and the impression of a hand reaching for her cheek—

"KYAAA!!!" she shrieked, flailing at the air.  "GET AWAAAAAAAY!"

The ghosts dissipated.  Still slightly nervous, she sat herself down and slowed her breathing.  Once she was sure she was in control of her emotions again, she stood back up.

First thing's first, she told herself.  Where was she?  She looked around herself slowly, turning in a complete circle.  Her mind fished around for an explanation or two, and drew a complete blank.  It appeared to be some sort of burial ground.  She craned her head back to look up at where she had been.

Someone had carved a statue out of the… bone?  Yes, she suddenly remembered.  There had been something about… someone dying.  Such a long time ago… she had felt an agonizing pain, and then she had fallen.  Someone must have taken her here, and then placed her inside the statue.  The statue was of a woman sitting and holding two stone girls on her lap.  They were both looking up at her, laughing.  The woman had her head thrown back, and she was laughing as well, responding to the children.  The three were sitting on top of a white orb that was somehow suspended in mid-air.  She had fallen out of the bottom of the sphere.

Shaking her head in utter confusion, she sighed and did a body check.  What else, really, could she do?  She hadn't the foggiest idea who she was, where she was, or what the hell she was doing there.  Right.  Body check, she reminded herself firmly before she decided to panic again.

She was wearing a nice little cloth skirt that was a dark red color.  It was also, she noted with distaste, very old.  Her upper body was bound with strips of white cloth that was actually like a bathing suit, she realized upon further inspection.  Then she paused, and shook her head.  What the hell was a bathing suit?  Apparently she had known at one time, because that was damn well what her bindings looked like.  She also had similar bindings on her lower arms and wrists.  There was also a bit covering her hands, but luckily leaving her hands mobile.  Her tiny feet were in strange, blocky sandals.

But, you know.  Whatever.

A staff had fallen next to her, and she reached down to pick it up.  Pausing suddenly, her head tilted slightly, listening.  There was a loud, audible click, and the sound of something beginning to wind into play. 

"Hello Hishima Usagi," a warm voice whispered in her mind.  "I see you've woken up.  If your sleep is anything like any of the other recorded sleeps in history, you won't remember anything when you wake up.  That's why I thought I'd put a trigger in your mind.  Once you woke up and got an appropriate bearing on your surroundings, you'd get my message.  Memories will return to you eventually—I hope you don't have any regrets.  Grief will be expected.  You had a rough time before… before you fell asleep.  I just really hope that you never regret meeting us, and I hope that eventually you'll be able to forgive yourself.  But enough of cryptic sounding nonsense.  You were sent to this time by the Lord of Demons, Lucifer.  You want revenge for your untimely and unfair death.  You want to kill Naraku.  You'll be following the Shikon no Tama—that's what Naraku is after, and wherever there are pieces of that, he'll follow.  I hope you have a nice rest of your life, and I hope you don't die… if you can, that is… oh dear, I'm losing sense of what I wanted to say.  Well, at any rate, Suzuku and I love you a lot Hishi-chan, and we'll miss you.  Love, Hina."

And then memories flooded back to her.  Memories of Shiro.  Memories of Hina and Suzuku.  Memories of her children.  More memories of Shiro.  Eyes wide, she watched numbly as her life paraded before her eyes.  Nothing was quite concrete yet, so she only had flashes of people, the barest of glimpses.  But it was enough.  It was enough to alert her to the fact that she did not want to know.

"Stop," she whispered, pleading.

The images kept marching grimly along.  Shiro and Inu Yasha, grinning at each other.  Hina giggling as Usagi tried to teach her how to make pancakes.  Sesshomaru watching loftily as Usagi attempted to play with him.  Suzuku laughing wickedly, arms around Shiro's middle.  The first time she woke up next to the man she pledged herself to.  The intoxicating scent of Shiro's blood as she bit into his lip.  The smell of blood, and the terrible silence—

She threw her arms out.  "NO!" she screamed.  "STOP!  I DON'T WANT TO KNOW!"  She collapsed to the ground, shoulders shaking.  "Please…" she begged, tears falling freely from her lashes.

"Ah, my poor youkai," someone breathed against her hair.

Lucifer.  Usagi stiffened, and then pushed away from him.  "You!" she shouted, pointing a finger at him.  "YOU DID THIS TO ME!  YOU GAVE ME EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED IN LIFE!  CLOSE FRIENDS, A LOVING HUSBAND, AND TWO NEPHEWS!  AND THEN YOU GIVE ME TWO CHILDREN!  AND THEN YOU TOOK IT ALL AWAY, DAMN YOU!  DAMN YOU!" she yelled, pounding a fist against his chest.

To her horror, she found that there was no strength left in her body.  She was weak.  Defenseless.  Dying inside.  Steadfast as Death approaching a cancer victim, Lucifer held her, keeping her from flying into the hundreds of shattered pieces that she felt like inside.

"How could you do this to me?" she asked in a small, broken voice.  "How?"

"The better question is how I can get you to forgive me?" he murmured.

"Make it go away," she said instantly.

Lucifer started, and then drew away from her.  Was it so easy, then?  He clutched her shoulders and held her up so that he could see into her face.  Her eyes were shadowed, and the fair face so often admired was unreadable.  She yanked herself free of his hands and stood resolutely.  She raised blue eyes to his, and Lucifer, the Great Lord of the Demons, found himself shaken to his soul.

"I wasn't always a genius, Lucifer.  Waking up after having the universe pressed into your mind changes that.  But while I maybe wasn't as smart as everyone else, _I was just as wise_.  I _knew_ what I wanted.  I _knew_ where my love lay.  Just like it lies here," she said bitterly, gesturing at the silent gravesite.  "I don't want to remember what I lost," she said, all at once sounding very tired.

No one should be able to see the raw emotion in those eyes and live.  Feeling much like he had just gazed into the face of God, Lucifer sighed and raked a hand through his black hair in a feeble attempt to regain his cool.  This was much more than he had---  _Whatever my lady commands._

"I guess if that's what you really want," he muttered, keeping a tight reign on his emotions. __

"I want to remember Shiro, Hina, Suzuku, and my nephews, but I don't want to remember—"  Her voice failed her, and she glanced down.  "Them.  What happened to my…."

Her hands clenched her skirt.  She couldn't say it.  She couldn't say it.  Saying it would be an affirmation.  It would be like saying….  It'd be like saying that they were dead.  That it actually happened.  That her… her _children_ had died.

Cool hands brushed against her forehead, and suddenly it was dark.

"GODDAMNIT!" she screeched, leaping back up, only to find that Lucifer had already gone.

Usagi took an inventory of herself furiously, damning herself for whatever deal she had struck with the man.  So what if he was devastatingly handsome.  So what if his manners were impeccable.  So what if his hands struck a tightly wound cord within Usagi---

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" she wailed.  SHE WAS FANTASIZING ABOUT LUCIFER!

"AAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" she continued in a state of complete and utter panic.

How was one supposed to wash the mind?  HOW?  HUH?  SHE COULD NOT HANDLE THE FACT THAT SHE HAD JUST FANTASIZED ABOUT THE BIGGEST JERK THAT SHE HAD EVER MET!  AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Finally settling for submerging her head in a large bucket of water, she allowed herself to calm down.  She was cleansed.  Meditation would have done just as well, but….  She frowned.  Whatever happened to her youkai discipline?  Shiro would have been disappointed to see her in the state she was.  But then again, maybe he wouldn't.  He had fallen in love with her—

She felt the sadness brush its fingers across the span of her heart, and swore.  Moping over an old flame— _love _-- wouldn't do her any good.  She'd have to go out and find Naraku, kill him, and then go back home and marry Mamoru and live happily ever after.

Usagi nodded decisively to herself, got up, turned around, and screamed loud enough to wake the dead.

Standing before her was most likely one of the most handsome men she had ever met.  An amused smile graced his lips (NICE lips, her mind interjected), and he bowed slightly.

"Lady Hishima, it seems that you have awakened from your long sleep at last.  I'd heard rumors, of course, but still, I find myself amazed."

Ah, she thought dazedly.  THERE was the iron will she had been digging for.  And right in time, too.  Summoning an indifferent expression to her face, she arched an arrogant eyebrow.  Yes, even her eyebrows were arrogant.  And they had a DAMN RIGHT TO BE.  They were fine eyebrows.

"And who do you think you are?  A lowly half-demon such as yourself should know your place," she said frostily.

His eyes glinted, and he chuckled.  "I know my place better than you think, Lady.  At least I myself am in my own place… in time, I mean."

And if that wasn't a large red banner pronouncing him evil, Usagi didn't know what was.  She was on her guard immediately.  When she spoke again, more ice crept into her voice than was normal.

"What brings you here, half breed?"

That smile of his widened, and she felt her knees beginning to weaken.  DAMN!  What the HELL was wrong with her?  It was that moment that Usagi remembered something rather important….  She was rather… insistent on being in love, or at least involved in or around something that somewhat resembled it.  That in and of itself was not a _bad_ thing per se, but it got her into some rather interesting situations during one of her breakups with Mamoru.  She had gotten used to the idea of love, and it was now proving to be her weakness.

_And what a lovely weakness…._

THAT WASN'T THE POINT!  The point was, quite obviously, that the man was beautiful.  Ten bucks says his babies would be gorgeous too, she snickered somewhere in the expanse of her mind.  

Alas, those thoughts were never the right ones, she reprimanded herself.  The correct thought that she ought to be having was that there was a strange, evil man before her, and she couldn't do anything except contrive to fall madly in love (or lust) with him.

She wanted to claw her eyes out.  And then feed them to the man in front of her.  Mmm.

NO!

_But he would **care**…_

NO!  IT WAS TIME TO NOT BE DISTRACTED BY HIM!  She would NEVER let herself be so easily defeated by another creature.  A half-breed no less.  Relieved that her body was once again under control, she grinned victoriously.  

_I will not fall victim to some stupid half-breed's good looks,_ she crowed inwardly. 

"I wasn't aware that I was having such a profound affect on you, Hishima-sama," he said with mocking concern as he began walking closer to her.

"Stay away or I'll seriously hurt you," she threatened unconvincingly.  Then, seeing as how he was approaching at an alarming speed (a speed resembling that of a snail, but that was INCONSEQUENTIAL), she threw her hands up, ran into his chest, and was dismayed to find that his skin was very, very warm, and that she could feel it through the silk in his blue garb.

She was fucked.  At this thought, approximately 51% of her grinned in anticipation.  The other percentage screamed loudly, horrified beyond all belief.  Majority, however, rules.  But then again, there was still the minority vote.  So as a small civil war raged within her, Usagi was rendered helpless as the nameless man backed her up against the wall.  Seeing nothing much to do, she glared furiously at him.

"I see now that I was remiss in calling in that favor," he murmured, sending shivers up and down her spine.

Huh?  Favor?  "What fav—"

And then his mouth was on hers and much to her annoyance she found herself quite readily cooperating.  DAMN THE MAN!  DAMN HER WEAKNESS FOR BEAUTIFUL MEN!  Beautiful men….  Beautiful men with soft lips….  Beautiful men with a strange, earthy scent….  Beautiful men with a warm, inviting mouth….  Beautiful men with… with….  What?  ROVING HANDS, THAT'S WHAT!

"Where the _fuck_ do you think you're going?" she demanded, shoving him away.

Usagi had the momentary satisfaction of seeing him look quite similar to some of the less subtle high schoolers she had witnessed in action.  Said satisfaction was quickly extinguished, however, when fury filled his face.  Ah, that belated fury always caught her by surprise.  He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up high.

"What did you do to me?" he asked in a low and deadly voice.

Her legs kicked uselessly, and she found herself wishing that she had at least SOME of her powers back!  SOME OF THEM, PLEASE!  After a brief pause she concluded that power was not responding after long sleep.  Deciding that the Gods hated her, she turned her attention back to the somewhat pressing matter at hand.  Namely that the great kisser had her by the throat, and that he looked pissed.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" she demanded.  "I didn't do a damn thing to you!  I know damn well that I'm not that bad of a kisser!  There's no possible way that you could have found it that revolting.  YOU started it, after all!"  (_Oh **good** Usagi, that made **lots** of sense.  Get defensive about your **kissing** skills.  Moron._)

"YOU KISS TOO DAMN WELL!" he roared.

She blinked, and then scowled furiously.  "Oh, so now you're calling me a WHORE?  Oh sure, lets get pissed off at the poor youkai who just MIGHT have some experience in kissing not ONLY because she's been around for a while but ALSO because she's GORGEOUS.  LET ME GO, DAMN YOU!" she hollered, kicking out in hopes of connecting with something.

Her foot failed in its quest, but Usagi was relieved of the pressure on her neck so suddenly that she forgot what was going on and tumbled unceremoniously to the ground.  She heaved herself up and scowled blackly up at the man, who was now looking down at her with a thoughtful expression.

"I know that you're here to kill me," he murmured to himself, so quietly that even a youkai wouldn't be able to hear.  LUCKY FOR HER SHE HAD HANDY DANDY SUPER EARS!  "But you intrigue me," he said more loudly.

She rolled her eyes, not knowing what the appropriate response was.  "Yeah, okay, whatever.  You tell me that you know I'm from the future, you kiss me, then try to strangle me, and then tell me that I'M intriguing?  Christ—"

"I've decided," he said suddenly.  "You will be mine once I obtain all the shards."

Her ears twitched and tried to dislodge themselves from their hair sticks.  Of doom.  Hair sticks of doom.  But he had said shards.  Shards.  Shards as in Shikon no Tama.  Usagi's mind began to fit the pieces together.  The favor he had spoken of.  The girl smiling, standing on the street as she watched her march to her death.  His comment about her being from the future.  His muttering about her killing him.

A red hate began to work its way through her mind.

"Naraku," Usagi hissed.

He smirked.  "So the ningen youkai finally figures it out.  You mean to kill me now, don't you?  Except," he asked, kneeling down so suddenly that she had no time to react, "you are powerless against my kiss, aren't you?"

"I--  Kiss— Idiot — NOT!" she finally bellowed, frustrated to the point of incoherence.

"Allow me to demonstrate," he murmured before pressing his lips against hers in a hard and demanding kiss.

It took nearly everything she had not to just surrender.  Usagi was floating in a sea of bliss.  So what if this guy killed her?  He still was the best kisser she had ever met in her entire life.  Ever.  He surpassed even Shiro, she was sad to realize.

_Shiro._

Naraku knew the second that she was gone.  She shoved him hard, stood up and carefully wiped her mouth off. Naraku studied her curiously.  Her entire demeanor had changed.  The woman had been torn— he could feel it in every fiber of her body.  During their brief contact he could almost hear her body's conflict.

_Give in and forget the pain, or hold on?  Forget for just a night, or… remember.  Him._  

A pained look crossed the blonde youkai's face, and she suddenly looked disgusted with herself.  Something yanked at him.  She was repulsed.  By his kiss?  _No,_ he suddenly realized.  She was repulsed because she enjoyed it.  She was repulsed because he had kissed her here in the very burial site of her love.

But he didn't care. 

By gods, what had this woman done to him?  His intent had been to just be there when she woke up and maybe taunt her some in classic bad guy style.  But then her blue eyes had caught him hook, line, and sinker.  Before he knew it his mouth was on hers and he knew nothing else.

And it was then that he knew that she could belong to no one but him.

Hishima Usagi, Princess Serenity, Usagi Tsukino, Sailor Moon--  It didn't matter how many forms she had.  She would always belong to him.  It didn't matter how long she raged, how far she ran, or how deep she buried herself in another's scent.

He would find her. 

"How could you?" she hissed angrily.

A derisive grin spread across his face.  "How could I?  I think the better question is… how could _you_?  Here, in the very place your love was laid to rest.  No respect for the dead, I see," he said mockingly.

The anger rose and pushed away the horror that had been lingering in her eyes.  "You _bastard_," she gasped.

He smiled.  His woman's expression worsened, and she took a step forwards, small hands balling up into fists.  How amusing.  The broken youkai thought she could fight him.  He snickered, and then let out a full laugh.  Then, still laughing, he vanished.

Usagi stared at the spot he had most recently vacated in utter shock.  It wasn't long, though, before she got mad.  She screamed and yelled and cried and threw rocks around, but nothing seemed to release her anger well enough.

"I HATE YOU!" she screamed, gathering her strength and rocketing out of the gravesite.

She was going to find him and kill him.

Hopefully.

Unless he killed her first.

Death by seduction, because as much as she hated it, she had enjoyed every second of their contact.

Wonderful, she thought sarcastically.  As if her day couldn't get any worse.

Unbeknownst to her, the bones she had left ached slightly at her departure.  Her silent company had been enough those fifty years.  It had been enough that she was simply… there.  And now she had left.  Sadly, silently, the bones sighed in anticipation of the long, lonely years ahead of them.

It was later that night, when she had collapsed on unfamiliar ground, that she remembered something Lucifer had whispered to her amidst the chaos of her memories as the spiraled away towards the back of her mind….

_"The one who rides with the hanyou… Kagome.  She knows where Shiro is.  She is the only one who can take you to him….  Through her is the only way you can see him again.  Find her, Hishima.  You don't deserve this misery…._"

Kagome.  A girl who rode with a hanyou, and, according to Lucifer, Kikyo's reincarnation.  She was a guardian, a lovesick idiot, a mother, a daughter, a sister, and the one thing standing between her and Shiro.

Yes, she would find Kagome.  What she did then, however….  Time would tell.

The earth sighed as another piece of the puzzle fell into place. 

* * *

Author's Note:  Ummm yes.  Blame my keyboard.  I had nothing to do with Naraku kissing her.  And… just to tell you, it took several months for her to totally wake up.  The presence of the shards only began the process.  Does anyone like… have a timeline of Inu Yasha?  Because I'd like to know how much time passes between this scene and the general Kikyo-ness of things.  OH YEAH!  And count on lots of people being out of character.  Yes, indeed.  Anyways.  VOTE ON COUPLINGS!  As it stands, she could be with anyone except… well.  Gah.  Vote, damn you!

PS: She is NOT related to Inu Yasha and Sesshomaru by blood, in case anyone was terrified of such a thing.  So far Kouga's in the lead.  That'd be adorable.  I already have some scenes written!  *hugs Kouga-plushie*  So cute….   And to warn you folks… don't expect a happy ending.  I have two possible outcomes planned out.  One is the typical happily ever after.  The other….  Well, let's just say that no one gets the girl.  Or the girl doesn't get anyone.  Something to that effect.  Or… maybe someone gets the girl but then they all die!!!  And unlike most of my other stories *cough*Good Riddance*cough* I plan on taking this very seriously.  I'm NOT going to hold back on making life resemble hell for the characters.  It won't be a very bad hell though.  Lots of little bunnies, because I can't write things sad.  Creepy, yes… *thinks of Godforsaken and shudders*… but not like… you know.  AH, SCREW IT.  

PPS: I LIED!  I've already written MORE and it's AWFUL!  I think so, anyways.  Have fun!  I'll do reviewers next chapter.  Gilmore Girls is in fifteen minutes and I have to crank this out….


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